Australia captain Tim Paine isn’t fazed by a lack of substantial contributions with the bat, ahead of the first Ashes Test in Birmingham this week.

Paine’s last 25 Test innings have yielded just two half-centuries. The wicketkeeper-batsman, too, is without a maiden century after four  years in the longest format of the international game.

‘I’m 34 years old, I don’t really care about my place in the side anymore. I’m here to a do a job. I’ve been put in this team to captain and keep wicket to the best of my ability,’ said Paine.

‘I’ve said it before: at 34 years of age if you’re looking further ahead than the next Test match you’re kidding yourself. I certainly realise how lucky I am, the position I’ve come from and the position that I’m now in.

‘I’m not going to waste time looking over my shoulder. I’m enjoying the job I’m doing and loving being in England being part of an Ashes series.’

Paine succeed batsman Steven Smith as Test captain last year, as Australia were rocked by a ball-tampering saga during the tour of South Africa. Smith and fellow batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned for the incident. Those suspensions have since ended, and Warner, Smith and Bancroft have been included in Australia’s Ashes squad.

‘They’re human beings, they’ve got feelings, they’re no different to anyone else. What we’ve spoken about is that we believe it’s going to go up a notch. We thought the guys handled themselves superbly,’ added Paine.

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